Material forming die



N. M. O LNEY MATERIAL FORMING DIE May 4, 1948.

Filed llarch 4, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 49 INVENTOR N. M. OLNEV RMW A TTOR/VE V May 4, 1948. Q N 2,440,809

MATERIAL FORMING DIE Filed March 4, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3

INVENTOR N. M OLNEV 6 R M MA -M ATTORNEY May 4, 1948.

N. M. OLNEY MATERIAL FORMING DIE Filed March 4, ,1944

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Has INVENTOR /v. M OLIVE) 7 8V ATTORNEY Patented May 4, 1948 MATERIAL FORMING DIE Nathaniel M. Olney, New York, N. Y., assignmto Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 4, 1944, Serial No. 525,133

6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to material forming dies, and more particularly to adjustable dies for forming articles of varied contours from materials.

Various articles of manufacture are desirable for use in containers, cans or the like which vary in size depending upon the contour of the articles they are to receive. In general practice a separate die may be made for each container.

An object of the invention is to provide a die which is simple in structure, eflicient in operation and highly variable for forming articles of varied contours.

With this and other objects in view, the invention comprises anadjustable die having a base supporting die elements thereon for adjustment into varied relative positions to form articles of varied contours.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description when con sidered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the adjustable die with the die elements thereof shown in one arrangement for forming a rectangular article;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view along the line 5 -5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a blank of a suitable material from which the article is formed with the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the formed article, and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of another type of article illustrating another arrangement of the die elements for forming this article.

Referring now to the drawings, attention is directed to Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, wherein there is shown a base Ill formed with lateral flanges I l for use in mounting the base upon a mounting plate of a forming press (not shown). In the present embodiment there are four die elements taken taken mount'd upon the base I!) by means of screws I8, and has a groove [9 extending for the full length thereof at its lower inner edge. The die element l5 has a tongue portion 2Q at the lower edge of the adjacent end thereof, receivable in the groove IQ for interengagement of the element with the element l4. The opposite end of the dieelement 15 has a similar tongue portion 2| 2 for interfittingengagement of this die element with a fixed member 22, through the aid of a groove 23 disposed in the lower edge thereof. The groove 23 extends the full length of the fixed 5 member 22; allowing for adjustment of the die clement l5 relative thereto. The member 22 is fixedly mounted upon the base In by screws 24.

Thedie element I6 has longitudinal grooves 28 in the side walls thereof short of the bottom of the element, as illustrated in Fig. 5, for receiving keys 2!) carried by the die element H. The die element 11, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 5, is of greater depth than the other die elements and is grooved laterally, as at 30, to receive the die element 16 and allow for relative adjustment thereof. The bottom of the groove 30 in the element I1 is flush with the top of the base so that the element I6 may be supported also by the base. A longitudinal groove 32 is formed in the upper surface of the die element l6 for connection with a holding bracket or member 33 of the contour shown in Fig. 3. A tongue portion of this member, indicated at 34 in Fig. 3, is formed for interfitting engagement with the die member I6 in its groove 32, to support the die element against displacement in any desired adjusted position relative to the die element 15. A threaded shank 36 of the bracket 33 is receivablein either of a pair of lateral recesses 31 in the member 22 and is held in any desired adjusted position'in this recess through the aid of nuts 38. The inner end of the die element 16 is provided with a tongue portion 40 at its lower edge receivable in a groove 4| in the die element 15 extending the full length thereof, for interfitting engagement between the die elementsv l5 and I6 and relative adjustment thereof. The die element I5 is adjustable relative to the-fixed die element 14 and the fixed member 22 through-the aid of clamping bolts 44 having square heads 45 receivable in T-shaped slots 46 of the base 10, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The die element 11 is disposed in a groove 48, in thebase 10, of the cross-sectional contour shown in Fig. 2, with interfitting tongue and groove connections 49. Through the aid of mounting bolts 50 and the reception of square heads 5| thereof in a T-shaped slot '52 of the base III, the die element Il may be adjusted, relative to the base and its'companion die elements, and locked in any of the adjusted positions. A set screw 54, threadedly disposed in one end of the die element l1 and held in position through the aid of a lock nut 55, functions to lock the die element It in any desired position relative to the element l1.

In the present illustration, the article illustrated in Fi 7 is to be formed from the blank shown in Fig. 6 and identified by reference numeral 58. Through the aid of the die, the sides and ends of the blank 58 are to be bent upwardly to form sides 59 and ends 60. Work locating members 62, having elongate apertures 63 therein, are mounted upon their respective die elements, as shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, through the aid of screws 64, to locate the blank 58 relative to the die aperture formed by the cooperation of the die elements l4, I5, l6 and H. A companion die or punch 10 of the selected contour for the article, has a shank H suitable formounting in the rain of the previously mentioned press (not shown).

Suitable means may be provided for ejecting the article after it has been formed. In the present illustration an ejecting plate 12 is supported by a resilient element 13 and connected therewith through the aid of a plunger 74. The resilient element 13 normally positions the upper surface of the plate 12 in a plane with the plane of the upper surfaces of the die members or closely adjacent thereto, so as to move the formed article free of the die cavity after the punch 10 has been moved upwardly therefrom.

With the present illustration it is apparent that after the blank shown in Fig. 6 is disposed over the die cavity and located by the members 62, the article shown in Fig. 7 may be formed by the lowering of the punch 10 into the position shown in Fig. 2. Many more contours may be realized through the adjustability of the die elements. It will be observed that the elements are interlocked one with the other, with the fixed member 22 and base ill, to assure rigidity in the structure regardless of the variation in the positions of the die members relative to each other. For example, the die element [5, in addition to being fixed to the base I'll through the aid of its clamping bolts 44, has its finished ends engaging and interlocking with the die element l4 and the fixed member 22, respectively. Furthermore, interengagement is provided between the die element i5 and the die element Hi. In each instance, with the movable die elements I5, I6 and I! there are several interengaging connections to assure rigidity equal to a solid structure regardless of the relative variations of the elements.

It is not believed necessary to illustrate the numerous arrangements which may be possible with this structure to form many different contours. However, an extreme illustration is shown in Fig. 8. The base and the die members are shown in dot and dash lines in their relative positions to form an L-shaped article 80 having a side 81, to be formed by the aid of the die element 15, a side 82 to be formed by the aid of the die element [4, a side 83 to be formed by the aid of the die element l1, and two side portions 84 to be formed simultaneously by the aid of the die element I6. It is understood that in each instance a punch 10 of the desired contour is provider to force the material into the die cavity, bending the sides and ends upwardly. These variations in the punch are not illustrated, as the salient features of the invention lie in the adjustable die. With this arrangement as shown in Fig, 8, the die elements I5 and 16 are separated. However, the di element I6 receives its support through the die element l1 and the holding bracket 33. The die element [6 is almost completely embedded in the carefully machined groove or recess 30 of the die element [1. However, in addition to this and at '4 a position where the greatest force is applied to the die element IS, the holding member 33 is disposed to maintain the element l6 against displacement. It is believed that with these illustrations, that is, the illustrations disclosed in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive and the extreme illustration of Fig. 8, numerous other arrangements which are possible may be visualized.

Although specific improvements of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood that they are but illustrative and that various modifications may be made thereinwithout departing from the scope and spirit of this invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is: i 1. An adjustable die for forming articles from materials, the die comprising a support having a groove therein, a fixed die element mounted on the support, a member fixedly mounted on-the 20 ,support parallel with the die element, a second die element movably disposed between the fixed die element and member, a third dieelement movably disposed in the said groove and having a recess therein, a fourth die element movably disposed in the said recess, and means to secure the movable die elements in any selected positions relative to each other-and the other die elements to cause the die elements to form die cavities of varied contours.

2. An adjustable die for forming articles from materials, the die comprising a support having a groove therein, a fixed die element mounted on the support, a-member fixedly mounted on the support parallel with the die element, a second die element movably disposed between the fixed die element and member, a third die element movably disposed in the said groove and having .a recess therein, a fourth die element movably disposed in the said recess, means to secure the movable die elements in any selected positions relative to each other and the other die elements to cause the die elements to form die cavities of varied contours, and means carried by the third die element to secure the fourth die element at any selected position in the said recess.

3. An adjustable die for forming articles from materials, the die comprising a support having a groove therein, a fixed die element mounted on the support, a member fixedly mounted on the support parallel with the die element, a second die element movably disposed between the fixed die element and member, a third die element movably disposed in the said groove and having a recess therein, a fourth die element movably disposed in the said recess, means to secure the movable die elements in any selected positions relative to each other and the other die elements to cause the die elements to form die cavities of varied contours, and auxiliary means carried by the fixed member to hold the fourth die element in its selected position.

4. An adjustable die for forming articles from materials, the die comprising a support having a groove therein, a fixed die element mounted on the support, a member fixedly mounted on the support parallel with the die element, a second die element movably disposed between the fixed die element and member, a third die e1ement movably disposed in the 'said groove and having a recess therein, a fourth die element movably disposed in the said recess, means to secure the movable die elements in any selected positions relative to each other and the other die elements to cause the die elements to form die cavities of varied contours, and auxiliary means variable in position with respect to the fixed member and the fourth die element; carried by the former to hold the latter against displacement in any selected position.

5. An adjustable die for forming articles from materials, the die comprising a support having a groove therein, a fixed die element mounted on the support, a member fixedly mounted on the support parallel with the die element, a second die element movably disposed between the fixed die element and member, a third die element movably disposd in the said groove and having the portion of the fourth die element disposed a recess therein, a fourth die element movably disposed in the said recess, means to secure the movable die elements in any selected positions relative to each other and the other die elements to cause the die elements to form die cavities of varied contours, and auxiliary means variable in position with respect to the fixed member and the fourth die element, carried by the former to hold the latter against displacement in any selected position spaced from the second die element.

6. An adjustable die for forming articles from materials, the die comprising a support having a groove in a face thereof, a fixed die element mounted on the face of the support, a member fixedly mounted on the face of the support paral-- lel with the die element, a second die element movably disposed on the face of the support be- 30 tween the fixed die element and the member, a third die element movably disposed in the said groove and having a recess therein terminating on the face of the support, carried by the memher to hold the said portion against displacement in any selected position spaced from the second die element.

NATHANIEL M. OLNEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 381,875 Entwisle Apr. 24, 1888 689,609 Einfeldt Dec. 24, 1901 843,854 Waterman Feb. 12, 1907 857,764 Smith June 25, 1907 900,393 Kohke ..;L Oct. 6, 1908 958,459 Amos May 17, 1910 1,151,624 Sonneborn Aug. 31, 1915 1,176,897 Hinde Mar. 28, 1916 1,825,067 Johnson Sept. 29, 1931 

